Anyone venturing out to MSU’s Wise Center disc golf course Saturday morning should keep their head on a swivel.
Discs will be flying as professionals and amateurs from around the region compete for cash on one of the area’s best courses. The 2023 Dawg Daze Open, scheduled for two rounds of play beginning Saturday at 9 a.m., is a Professional Disc Golf Association-sanctioned event back for its second year on campus.
Assistant tournament director Andy Hunt said registration for this year’s tournament filled up two months ago but there are still great opportunities for spectators to see some great players in action.
“Come out,” said Hunt, who owns Disc and That in Starkville. “Of course, it is a sanctioned tournament and it’ll be just like any sporting event you’re going to…there are certain places you don’t need to be standing…But there are plenty of places people can stand and watch.”
SDGA is setting up a “Tournament Central,” Hunt told The Dispatch, an area shaded by two large tents where people can gather and watch play on several of the nearby holes.
The increasing popularity of disc golf in the Golden Triangle allows for area tournaments, such as the Dawg Daze Open, to offer bigger prizes, more exposure and the opportunity to draw from a larger pool of golfers. The improvements necessary to get the Wise course tournament-ready also benefit area players who aren’t necessarily looking for a competitive round. Those improvements have also trickled down to other Starkville courses.
“The Starkville Disc Golf Association wasn’t formed until August of 2021,” Hunt said. And at that time, Starkville had one 18-hole course and a 10-hole course. Now it has three 18-hole courses and one nine-hole course, with a couple of other projects being looked at.”
There is no fee for spectator entry, and the first groups tee off at 9 a.m., while the second round begins at 1 p.m.
Philip Poe is sports editor.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 47 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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